Quick Energy for Physical Test...

Tomorrow morning I have a physical fitness test for a law enforcement job and will be required to max out on pushups, situps, as well as a mile and a half run and a sprinting event. All of these events are timed and my performance is critical. I have been 99% PB for several months now, and was considering what I could eat or drink prior to this testing to give me a boost of energy to make it through all the events without feeling drained. I know the energy drinks are a serious no-no on PB, but would it provide me a little extra energy for an hour or so and help performance? Will my usual 4 egg breakfast be enough? Any thoughts or ideas would be great.. or a pre testing meal suggestion for stamina and energy.!

I've done 3 of those so far, and my regular breakfast has always been fine (2 thick pieces of quiche consisting of about 4 eggs, spinach, bacon, sausage, and a bunch of mixed veggies). Energy wise you should have no problems. It will depend a lot more on what you've been doing for physical conditioning, so hopefully you've been as faithful with that as you have been with PB.

If you've been doing any crossfit style workouts for 3+ months, then you should be very competetive. If your area is anything like where I am in Southern California there will be hundreds of applicants there for just a handful of positions, so do your best and try to enjoy it without stressing over the results.

Thanks Mike...! I am worried most about the 1.5 mile run because I am likely not contidioned enough. I have been doing 5x5 stronglifts program, but not so much running and cardio. I was hoping to eat a power meal in the morning would get me an extra endurance boost. I was also considering one of those "5-hour energy" drinks with no sugar to give me a boost....

Best of luck tomorrow..I think you'll do fine. I did one awhile ago, and my mile-and-a-half has always sucked. When I tested, though...the adrenaline took over, and I did alright. I WAS trashed the next day, though ;-)

Don't worry too much about it Steve. I don't want to be discouraging at all, but to be realistic; if they're basing who gets a shot on your physical results, then you'll need to be in *excellent* shape to be in the top 5 or so. If they're not putting too much stress on the PAT, then you don't need to stress too much about it.

Either way, the end result is to do your best and not worry after that. I got 10:25 on the 1.5 mile, and still had probably 15 people ahead of me out of 97 competing for 1 position. Competition right now is *fierce*. Use the PAT as a learning process, and don't worry too much about if you get in at this one agency this one time. Some guys I talked to were on their 8th PAT.

Thanks all for the input... So I decided to stick to the usual diet and had 4 eggs and chicken sausage for breakfast. I felt I had plenty of energy and still failed due to a slow 1.5 mile run (15 min). I get a chance to retest in 6 weeks and am hoping to condition myself a little better on the cardio side of things. I may post a thread in the fitness section for ideas, but if I run a few miles a day for the next 6 weeks to get conditioned, how would I need to change my current diet? My current diet is 60% fat, 30% protein, 50-75g carbs... I currently get around 2100 calories a day, but that may be too low for that type of aggressive cardio. I am 30yr old and weigh 175lb... Any thoughts!

good luck next time!
maybe post on the althlete's section?
I cant IMAGINE coconut oil before exercise?
I compete in races from 5km to 50 miles and before a run/race I always have a banana and some PB-works for me. Try it in training before the next race.
Also-the Paleo DIet for Athletes is a great book with resources-similar to primal with different type of eating before during and after exercise. I dont buy into the 'chronic cardio' at all but agree with most, but not all, of PB. But Id really recommend this book if you are training regularily.